Where Avedisian is going...another bid for mayor?

He won’t be announcing his political plans at a fundraiser next Thursday, but invitations to the event should dispel any doubts whether Scott Avedisian will seek another term as mayor.

The invitation features three photographs of the mayor. Under the first with the date 1990 reads, “Where we were,” under the second photograph taken 10 years later reads, “Where we are.” The third picture is dated 2014 and under it are the words, “Where we’re going.”

Asked yesterday if he plans to disclose where he would be going, what office he plans to run for, Avedisian said he has a schedule and he would be following it and an announcement won’t be forthcoming on Feb. 27.

The invitation is to the mayor’s friends and supporters, asking them to celebrate his 14th year as mayor. The event is from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Chelo’s, 2225 Post Road. Tickets are $50 per person and $75 per couple. There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. The back of the invitation includes the 15 names of the “Avedisian Committee.”

Avedisian said one of the most difficult aspects of the invitation was locating a photo from 1990, the year he ran for City Council. He successfully ran in a special election to complete the term of Lincoln Chafee in 2000 after Chafee was appointed by then Gov. Lincoln Almond to complete the term of his late father, Senator John Chafee.

By this time in an election year, the names of several candidates for mayor have surfaced, but the Warwick political scene has been quiet so far. The assumption is that Avedisian, who has never come close to losing an election, will run again.

The mayor hasn’t said anything to make people think otherwise and the fact that he is now talking about “Where we are going” would lead them to conclude he plans to stay in Warwick.

As of the last report filed with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, Avedisian’s campaign coffers had a total of $38,954.82.

RE: "The people of Warwick love Mayor Avedisian. As long as he runs he will get re-elected"

Well, not all the people of Warwick love the mayor. Based on the last few elections, there are many who voted for his opponent.

A more appropriate statement may be that to date no formidable candidates have run against him., Warwick is far from what it used to be, and many feel that under our mayor's guidance, the city has become less residential and subject to over urbanization, no longer the model city it used to be.

All this is reflected by the media, problems with the schools, sewer authority, budgets, internal theft, preference to the airport over constituents, misleading statements on the city pension liability on and on, there are many who know that change is needed,.